Fan heater may have sparked fatal Matraville fire

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An electric fan heater would be investigated as a cause of a Sydney house fire in which two children died and and their mother and a third sibling were left critically ill.

NSW Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins said today the heater was probably to blame for the Matraville blaze which killed two-year-old Glen Luland and his four-year-old sister Brenda.

"We're not exactly certain at this stage (what caused the fire), we're not 100 per cent and the coroner will be looking at that," Commissioner Mullins told 2GB radio.

"But (the heater) is one of the angles we're looking at."

The children's mother Joanne, aged in her late 20s, remained in a critical condition at Royal North Shore Hospital today, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Her seven-year-old son Keith was at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, but the hospital would not comment on his condition until they received parental consent. Yesterday, he was listed as being critical.

The Luland family was rescued by firefighters and neighbours who battled thick smoke and flames to retrieve them from the house at Armentieres Way about 4am (AEST) yesterday.

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But Glen and Brenda later died in hospital.

Commissioner Mullins has said two deadlocked front doors, which did not have keys in the locks, had meant the family could not get out.